Kouprey Adventures: Unique Cambodia Tours

It’s been a tough few years for the Cambodia tourism industry, but with borders now open and travel rebounding, hopes are high that 2023 will breathe new life into the industry. Kouprey Adventure’s managing director Richard Casswell shares how the boutique tour operator is crafting unique Cambodia tours that stand out from the crowd.

Despite the slow tourism rebound in 2022, the team at Kouprey Adventures had a busy year. They spent it scouring the country to find the very best intimate lodges and villas, hotels, and luxury camps that throw the spotlight on the Kingdom’s nature and great outdoors.

Kouprey Adventures: Unique Cambodia Tours

“Looking through our Google Places for 2022, our product and operations team visited over 100 destinations in Cambodia. That’s in addition to every hotel, activity and experience that we recommend, we’ve personally visited and have a relationship with these partners,” said Richard Casswell, managing director of the tour company in Cambodia. He was fresh from a trip to a remote Mekong island near the Laotian border ahead of guests arriving next month.

In addition, the team has visited all corners of Cambodia, using every transport option available. Think cars, buses, trains, motorbikes, bicycles and even helicopters. “For the adventurous we have first-hand knowledge of emerging destinations, where we look to promote community-based tourism and bring travellers to have authentic experiences example itinerary,” Casswell added.

Cambodia Private Tours

“At Kouprey Adventures we pride ourselves on being Cambodia specialists that are guest-centric,” Caswell said of how the Cambodia tour company keeps things fresh. “We create each itinerary based on our customers’ travel style and personalise each day. We don’t have standard packages and systems that churn out sales. Each departure is curated with our sales and operations team having deep knowledge of our guests.”

From a Cambodia countryside tour to visiting waterfalls deep in the jungle and champagne breakfasts at remote temples, the result is a delightful mix of adventures and experiences that showcase all sides of the country. A private show by Cambodia’s top performance artists to high tea with royalty, or a bespoke Cambodia Angkor Wat tour. The options are endless.

“We’ve booked out completely all private helicopters to have amazing treasure hunts,” Casswell said. “We offer incredible temple dinners, including to famous Angkorian temples that aren’t actually known to be privatised. We offer ways to support worthy NGOs all over the country, and even have our own community project we’ve funded and will complete in 2023.”

Keeping Afloat During Covid

As of May 2022, almost 1,200 tourism-related businesses were closed and nearly 22,000 direct jobs lost due to the Covid-19 in Cambodia, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Now in full recovery mode, the Kingdom has set a target of attracting four million international visitors in 2023. That’s almost double its 2022 figures.

Kouprey Adventures was one of a few Cambodia tour operators to remain open throughout the pandemic, keeping all of its 10 staff employed throughout. Key elements Casswell said in preparing it for the country’s highly-anticipated re-opening in November 2021.

“By keeping our office open throughout the pandemic, our founder staying in Cambodia and keeping all Kouprey Adventures’ staff on the payroll through increased investment in the company, we were among the first to have guests back in Cambodia and build back quickly to where 2023 is looking to be our most successful year in our seven-year history.”